


Home

by Cats_Dont_Float



Series: Cecilos Oneshots [3]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 17:09:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17084351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cats_Dont_Float/pseuds/Cats_Dont_Float
Summary: Carlos has been in the desert otherworld for a long time. When he returns, things will obviously take a while to go back to normal. For now, Cecil just wants to be with his boyfriend and appreciate his company.





	Home

Carlos is back. That's all Cecil can think as he walks home. For the first time in a year, he's walking home with his boyfriend by his side, but something feels wrong. There's a space between them, filled with unsaid things, and neither of them knows quite what to do. Eventually, they reach their home, and Carlos quietly follows Cecil inside.  
"Welcome home," Cecil says after a while with a small smile. Carlos returns the smile, looking around and taking in the sights of the home he hasn't seen for ages. They head into the kitchen, and Cecil tries to break the awkward silence by making coffee for the two of them. Carlos can't help noticing the extreme amount of empty alcohol bottles on the kitchen sides, but doesn't mention it.  
"I missed you, Cece," Carlos says as he takes his mug of coffee.  
Cecil looks over at him, and for the first time, Cecil feels tears fill his eyes. "I missed you too," he replies, his voice shaking, and Carlos can tell that this has been a lot harder for Cecil than it was for him. Cecil spins around and rushes out of the room. Carlos instantly follows after him.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Cecil sits down on one end of the sofa, curling up and tucking his feet under him. When Carlo walks in, he glances down at Cecil, and then sits down on the other end of the sofa.  
"How have you been since I last talked to you?" Carlos asks softly.  
Cecil shrugs. "I've been fine."  
Carlos doesn't believe that, but he doesn't say anything, and instead says, "I'm so sorry it took me so long to realise that I needed to come home to you. I love science, but I love you more, and I should have been here for you."  
"You love me more than you love science?" Cecil asks, his eyes watery again.  
"Of course!" Carlos cries, and then claps his hand over his mouth, "Sorry, I'm being loud."  
Cecil actually grins at that, smiling more than he has in months. Carlos looks at him in confusion, and Cecil finds himself once again overwhelmed by love for his boyfriend. He's missed Carlos so much. He's missed how Carlos gets louder and louder as he gets more passionate about what he's talking about. He's missed listening to Carlos ramble on and on about science. Mostly, he's just missed having someone else in his life.  
Carlos seems to know exactly what Cecil wants to say, even though he can't properly say those things. Instead of pushing him to speak, Carlos simply shuffles close to Cecil's side, and let's the other man lean on his shoulder.

"You need to sleep," Carlos says as he watches Cecil yawn widely.  
"I can't," Cecil mumbles into Carlos's shoulder. "I'm scared that when I wake up this will all be a dream, just like all the other times I've dreamt about this."  
"It's not a dream," Carlos replies, "As a scientist, I can confirm that this is definitely real."  
Cecil lets out a sigh, and reluctantly agrees to go to sleep. It is already the early hours of the morning, and he has work tomorrow. He stands out, and is about to walk out of the room when he realises Carlos is still sitting there awkwardly.  
"Are you not coming to bed?" Cecil asks.  
"I think I'll just stay here for a while," Carlos sighs. "It's been so long, and... I don't know, everything just feels a bit strange. I just don't want anything to be weird."  
"It's not weird," Cecil replies, "I know this is going to be hard to get used to, but we can work through this together, right?" He sighs and then admits, "I just really need my boyfriend right now."  
Carlos, hearing how sad Cecil sounds, jumps up off of the sofa, and pulls Cecil into a tight hug. "I'm never leaving you again," Carlos whispers in his ear.

Eventually, they make their way into the bedroom, and Cecil instantly collapses into bed, clearly exhausted. Carlos pulls off the clothes he's been wearing for days in that desert. When he opens the wardrobe, he finds all of his clothes still hanging there. He grabs a shirt with a science pun and a picture of a dinosaur on it, and pulls the shirt on, before crawling into bed. Cecil rolls over, and wraps his arms tightly around Carlos's side. There's still a lot of things they need to discuss. They've been apart for a long time and there's a lot of stuff they need to catch up on. But, for now, they're both happy just to curl up together, quietly enjoying each other's company.  
Cecil buries his face into Carlos's shoulder, and breathes in his familiar smell. Carlos smells faintly of smoke, old book and lavender chewing gum. Carlos smells like home.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this with absolutely no plan so I'm not really sure what I was writing. I'm going back to add more tags and edit it more later.


End file.
